Nevada races past Rainbow Wahine
Advertiser Staff
Two days after Hawai'i ended a three-game basketball slide by winning its conference and road opener, the Rainbow Wahine fell flat at Nevada.
The Wolf Pack ran away in the first half last night and cruised to a 77-62 victory at Lawlor Events Center.
Nevada, whose only other win came Dec. 13, led 43-23 at halftime. The Pack (2-10, 1-1 WAC) hit 51 percent of its first-half shots while UH (3-8, 1-1) made only 26 percent.
"They went 7 for 11 from behind the 3-point line, shot really well," UH coach Vince Goo said. "And we didn't defend as well as we should have. They ran some fast breaks on us, spotted up and hit 3s. They're a quick team. They push the floor and challenged us on every single possession. But the key was 7 for 11 from behind the line."
The 'Bows trailed just 17 seconds Saturday at Fresno State, but led only once last night, at 4-2.
Reserves Trisha Nishimoto, Brittney Aiwohi and Brittany Grice helped cut the deficit to 12 in the second half, but UH still suffered its worst loss this season.
April Atuaia, Hawai'i's only senior, led the scoring with 16 points — one off her season high. Jade Abele, the WAC's leading scorer, was held to 10 points.
Abele hit just 2 of 10 foul shots. The Rainbow Wahine, who lead the WAC with 72-percent free-throw shooting, were just 18 of 33 as a team for 55 percent.
"You've got to make free throws to cut it," Goo said. "That was tough. We'd get close, then not make free throws. But our kids battled the whole second half. That was on the plus side."
Jocelyn Mancebo scored 16 for Nevada, which started four underclassmen.
While the WAC's youngest teams battled in chilly Reno, the rest of the conference heated up:
- Rice upset eighth-ranked Louisiana Tech, 87-84, in overtime. It was the Techsters' second loss in two-plus WAC seasons, both in Houston. Owl Lindsay Maynard forced the overtime when she sank one of two free throws after Tech was hit with a technical for calling too many timeouts.
- In another overtime game, SMU won at Tulsa, 72-64.
- Fresno State blasted San Jose State, 81-39. The Spartans, who missed their last 17 shots in the first half, were off to their best start in history.
The Rainbow Wahine close their first trip of the season at San Jose Thursday.
